NLP Sales | Problem and Value Statements

Before starting a conversation with a potential customer, you need some problem and value statements, and it’s also useful to have some respected reference customers. This builds on our customer proposition questions in the Going Solo section. (Please answer those questions first.)

Practice your answers to these questions.

In order to show your customer that you understand their position, and have solved similar problems in the past, it’s worth practising your answers to these questions. Also if you’re working on a complex sale understand both how you can help the individual you’re speaking to, his or her boss and the company.

What do you have in common with the individual you’re talking to? With his or her company?

What customers are you working with that your the individual you’re talking to is likely to respect? That his or her boss/company is likely to respect?

What problems both does your company work with? (That are relevant to the individual? To their boss/company?)

What are the likely implications of those problems?

What problems do you solve as to your customer? (That are relevant to the individual? To their boss/company?)

What are the likely implications of those problems?

What solutions does your company offer? (That are relevant to the individual? To their boss/company?)

What is the likely value of those solutions?

What approaches/methodologies do you offer? (That are relevant to the individual? To their boss/company?)

How are you better than your competitors?

Many customers are only interested in listening to solutions once they’ve decided that the underlying problem has a real negative impact and is worth solving.

And at this stage, they’ll then probably want to look at a range of solutions, so they are in a position to choose the best one.

Brainstorm as large a list of solutions as possible, then use the most important to gain access to the clients that interest you the most.

In the next section we talk about using the results in your customer contact approach.